Porous alloy for implants shows strong testing results

The staff of the Laboratory of Medical Alloys and Implants with Shape Memory at the TSU Siberian Institute of Physics and Technology has completed testing the porous alloy SHS-TiNi.

The study of modified titanium nickelide, created for the manufacture of implants, showed its high biocompatibility and its maximum resistance to cyclic loads for porous materials. The next step will be technical and toxicological certification testing.

Ekaterina Marchenko, senior researcher at the Laboratory of Medical Alloys and Implants with Shape Memory, said: “Titanium nickelide is one of the most well-known materials with shape memory effect and is widely used in medicine. We got an alloy with high corrosion resistance. The functional characteristics were improved by modifying the gas medium in which the alloy is synthesised.”

The biomechanical properties of the material were tested using quasi-static tension and bending. This study enabled the TSU scientists to argue that the deformation behaviour of porous titanium nickelide, like the behaviour of a monolithic alloy, is viscoelastic and similar to the rheology of biological tissues.

In endurance tests, 70% of the SHS-TiNi alloy samples withstood 1 million deformation cycles without fracture. Along with this, a series of experiments involving laboratory animals was conducted in one of the Russian medical centres.

The high endurance and biological inertness of the porous alloy proven in preclinical trials will enable using this material in new surgical techniques in oncology and traumatology when replacing extensive defects in bone structures. The next stage of work will be the technical and toxicological certification tests necessary for utilising the material in surgical practice.